It all depends on who you ask. "Art" is a ridiculously subjective term. i drew comic books for the first 6 years of my working adult life/career. My friends in the art department at the nearby university swore to the heavens that while what I did required skill and even imagination, it wasn't "true art", only "illustration". Those are the same people who would swear Frank Frazetta was a mere illustrator, not to be confused with an artist. Frankly, those people didn't remain my friends for long and to this day I don't get along well with what I consider the "artsy fartsy" types because of the attitude.

Here's a real conundrum for you though...

I am an artist. I design, sculpt, texture and rig characters for a living. The majority of the works I do end up being sold as downloadable goods so that others, dare I say, artists, may then use those works to create works of their own. I've actually been called by some people a "production artist" and not a "true" artist because they say what I make is merely an intermediary product before someone else actually uses it to express themselves. Personally, that's a load of crap. What I and ever other content creator does, IMO, is definitely an art, and beyond that it's part of what I feel to be a wonderful fledgling art form where one, or many, may create something that is then used by others to express something. Now, some could say that some things are more artful than others, but again, I think that's all in the eye of the beholder.

Oh, and just for the sake of the topic...

Outside of this stuff, I LOVE martial arts. Traditional Japanese martial arts, Shotokan, Kobudo, Goju Ryu, Chito Ryu, Iaido... the list goes on and on. Now, when some folks see what we do with any of these, they might initially say, "where's the art? It's just kicks, punches, fighting and physical training". But to them I would say this: watch a 7th Dan in his mid 50's run a kata they've been training to perfect for 20 or 30 years. Watch a 70+ year old sensei perform a kata he's been honing for over 50 years. It is just breathtaking. When performed with true expertise and experience, a karateka will seem to almost remove their mind from the world you see and experience the nature of the kata right before you. It is beautiful and I feel exemplifies why they are called martial ARTS. Just something I thought I'd throw out there into the grand, overwhelming debate of art. Oh yeah, and I just love any chance to start babbling on about karate-do. :)  -Les